Donald Sterling doctor: Exam done under stress; testimony ends

Jul. 23, 2014
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Longtime Donald Sterling attorney Max Blecher tried to get in testimony Wednesday about his client's mental capacity but was prevented from doing so by the judge in the probate trial between Donald and Shelly Sterling. / Robert Hanashiro, USA TODAY Sports

by David Leon Moore, USA TODAY Sports

by David Leon Moore, USA TODAY Sports

LOS ANGELES â?? Testimony in the weeks-long probate trial between Donald Sterling and his estranged wife, Shelly, concluded Wednesday, with closing arguments set for Monday in a case that could help lead to resolution of Shelly's impending $2 billion sale of their Los Angeles Clippers to former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer.

Donald's side finished presenting its case and did not, as expected, recall Shelly to the stand.

Judge Michael Levanas advised the attorneys to focus on three issues in their arguments:

*Whether Donald was properly removed from the Sterling Family Trust.

*Whether Shelly can still execute the sale after Donald revoked the trust.

*Whether there is an urgent situation regarding imminent loss of value to the trust. If there is, Levanas can make a ruling under section 1310 (b) in the California probate code approving the sale and making his order essentially appeal-proof.

Shelly must prevail on all three issues to win the court order she needs to close the deal with Ballmer.

However, the lawsuit filed Tuesday afternoon in Los Angeles Superior Court by Donald against Shelly, the NBA, commissioner Adam Silver and LAC Basketball Club (the Clippers), could potentially complicate the sale to Ballmer.

That suit claims that Shelly and the NBA violated corporate law in trying to sell the team, and that Donald is the sole shareholder of the corporation that owns the Clippers.

"It's a whole different set of legal questions," Donald's lawyer, Bobby Samini said. "Until you get to the conclusion in that case, a sale can't go on. This thing's going to go on for a while."

That lawsuit requests an injunction blocking the sale, but neither Samini nor Shelly's lawyers could say whether a 1310 (b) â?? or appeal-proof â?? order by Levanas might be overridden by an injunction in the lawsuit.

Adam Streisand, Ballmer's lawyer, said he is not worried that Donald's lawsuit will get in the way of a sale.

"I told (Ballmer) he need not be concerned about this lawsuit," Streisand said.

Sterling has also filed a billion-dollar federal antitrust lawsuit against the NBA.

"Donald Sterling is running out of courtrooms to try to block this sale," Pierce O'Donnell, Shelly's lawyer, said.

The testimony in the trial concluded with Dr. Jeffrey Cummings, an expert on Alzheimer's and dementia, testified on behalf of Donald that he believes the mental evaluations of Donald conducted by two doctors hired by Shelly were improperly done because Shelly was in the room at the time.

"I understand there's a stress between Mr. Sterling and Mrs. Sterling," Cummings testified. "The optimal examination would be conducted with no distractions so that the person being examined could, would be able to concentrate fully on the task at hand.

"The standard of care is that the patient is able to attend fully and completely to the tasks he is being asked to complete."

Donald's lawyers have been trying to make a case that Shelly and two doctors acted in conspiracy to fraudulently get Donald certified as mentally incapacitated in order to remove him from the Sterling Family Trust as a co-trustee so she could go ahead with her sale of the Clippers to billionaire Ballmer.

Despite repeated attempts by Donald's lawyer, Max Blecher, to get Cummings to opine about the reports done by doctors Meril Platzer and James Spar, Judge Michael Levanas would not allow that or testimony about Cummings' own mental evaluation of Sterling.

The attorneys had agreed before the trial that Donald's mental capacity would not be an issue, avoiding a battle of experts arguing about his mental health.

O'Donnell pointed out that Donald invited Shelly to sit in on both examinations and, before he called her "you pig" the day she testified in this trial, had testified several times himself about how much he loved Shelly.

O'Donnell closed his cross by eliciting an admission from Cummings that under some cases it would be unhelpful â?? perhaps even induce stress â?? to inform a patient what the consequences might be if he performed poorly on an examination.

The case is in recess until closing arguments 10 a.m. PT Monday. Trial briefs are due Thursday, basically a summation of the case from both sides.